Apple moves to high fashion

Many have accused Apple of being a maker of fashion toys rather than a serious technology company, and now it appears that Jobs’ Mob have gone the whole hog and hired a fashion designer.

Apple has hired former Yves Saint Laurent CEO Paul Deneve as a vice president, reporting directly to Apple CEO Tim Cook. Jobs’ Mob said that Deneve will work on "special projects" and not as head of retail. It is hard to imagine what sort of special project he could be hired to work on. His CV is not technology related. The only think metallic he would have used is when models marched down the catwalk to songs performed by Scooter.

The tame Apple press is getting all moist about the prospect that he might be helping design wearable computers. While that would make some sense, the idea that Apple fanboys would become dedicated followers of fashion is fairly laughable.

Nothing in Apple’s history has ever suggested the firm ever bothered with making those sorts of statements. Steve Jobs, with his trademark jeans and black turtle-necks famously was “anti-fashion.”

The other side of the coin is that if Deneve is designing watches, then what is Sir Jonathan Paul "Jony" Ive doing at Apple these days?